Back to School Icebreakers: 2015 Edition

New dorm mates, class mates, group mates, party friends…so many opportunities for awkwardness. Or for being the awesome person who knows how to make everyone forget about it. Whether you’re tryna be the kickass RA who gets all of his freshmen chilling from day 1, or your frat’s rush chair looking to shake it up and get the best pledges, or you’re just an incoming freshman hoping to avoid having to talk about the weather at dinner, we’ve got something for you. Whatever your interest, we want to make sure you don’t have to ask everyone to say their name and spirit animal every time you’re gathering a new crew. Stay savvy my friends.

Party Management: Knock Knock (Free)

RA? Get your babies on this — you won’t have to remember their names and you’ll be able to send them to parties via a beacon message. Social chair? Log attendees from the beginning of the year and you’ll know who’s worth your time. Freshman? Well…you will be thanking me — as will your friends, because you’ll be getting the invites that others won’t be seeing.

The Updated Team Competition Classic: Heads Up! ($0.99)

This one is definitely worth the buy-in. It’s Ellen DeGeneres’s modern version of charades — one person holds their phone to their forehead and tries to guess the word that shows up based on their teammates’ ridiculous acting out skills. It’s a race between teams to get through the deck, and will have you all yelling and jumping and laughing in five minutes.

Taboo Improved: Phrase Party ($1.99)

Phrase party makes old school Taboo worth playing. Think complicated with extra rules and reasons to drink. It’s worth throwing into the mix at dorm meetings and club events. The drinking version is more fun, just saying.

All Purpose: Icebreakers (Free)

Icebreakers is designed for this, so it’s an easy pick. With facilitators and group leaders being the basis of it’s creation, Icebreakers was made to make introductions, team building, and breaking down barriers easy. There are hundreds of choices, allowing you to pick what will suit your aims and to help you make icebreaking the smoothest it can possibly be. And, well, it’s free.

Adult Entertainment: Evil Apples (Free)

It’s like Cards Against Humanity, but “adult.” It’s a pretty sweet icebreaker game that asks players to fill in the blanks with the funniest, weirdest or just downright outrageous statements that they can. Every round, one player becomes the judge, reads the question card, and every other player chooses one of their answer cards. Then, hilarity ensues — the judge awards a point, and the first player to 7 wins the game. It will keep you entertained all night long. And, well, we all know what that’s like. I mean, just ask Hillbillary.